Boulder: Xcel insisted on cheaper fix

City agrees to let Xcel bore under open space to bring new power line to Shanahan Ridge

Boulder and Xcel Energy have reached an agreement that will allow the company to bore under city-owned open space to run a new electric line to the Shanahan Ridge neighborhood.

But city officials say Xcel is taking a cheaper route that won't improve long-term reliability because it doesn't want to invest in Boulder's distribution system.

Boulder spokeswoman Sarah Huntley said the situation underscores the limitations of the city not having its own utility.

"We can try to argue with the provider, but we don't have the ability to tell them how to spend their money," she said, "whereas if we have our own utility, we could look at the community values and decide it was worth spending a little more money for more reliability."

A spokeswoman for the company said this route is the best way to get a new line put in as soon as possible and has nothing to do with the city's plans to start a new electric utility.

"With this project, as with all of our projects in the city, the fact that the city may attempt to create its own utility has absolutely nothing to do with the quality, operations and service we provide to our Boulder customers," Michelle Aguayo said in an email responding to the city's claims. "We are 100% committed to our Boulder customers in the same way we are to our other customers."

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Shanahan Ridge, which is the only area of the city served by a substation in Eldorado Springs, was without power for almost 60 hours during September's floods when a previous underground power line across private property was damaged by shifting ground. When that property owner did not give permission for Xcel to access the line, the company strung a temporary line along a fence on city open space without the city's knowledge, officials said.

Huntley said the city is concerned that running the new line through similarly vulnerable open space does not do enough to improve the reliability of service to that neighborhood. The city had wanted Xcel to run the line from a feeder line at the National Center for Atmospheric Research along right-of-way under sidewalks and pavement to improve redundancy.

Boulder does not plan to take control of the Eldorado Springs substation if it moves forward with municipalization, and the city would reroute the power supply to the neighborhood to tie it to the rest of the Boulder grid.

City officials said Xcel rejected that option and cited the city's plans to create its own electric utility.

"It basically came down to money. Xcel was unwilling to bear the cost for the preferable repair," Boulder City Attorney Tom Carr said in a news release about the agreement. "Our position is that Xcel Energy has a responsibility to provide reliable service to its customers. Xcel Energy should not shirk that responsibility by choosing a less reliable, lower cost option, especially one that has already failed at least once."

Carr said Xcel officials explicitly tied the choice of repair to the city's plans during negotiations.

"The suggestion that Xcel would consider making the improvements that best serve Shanahan Ridge only if the possible creation of a local utility was not on the table is very troubling," Carr said. "Customers in Boulder, along with customers throughout Xcel's service territory, have already paid into the company's capital improvement fund to support necessary repairs like this one. It appears that Xcel, knowing that it may have to sell its equipment to the city at a later date, is running the distribution system down and refusing to make reasonable and prudent repairs to keep it functioning."

Huntley said if the more expensive choice improved the value of Xcel's Boulder distribution system, the city would end up paying more for Xcel's system in court during the condemnation case and the company would be reimbursed for its investment.

Aguayo said Carr appeared "misinformed" about the background of the situation.

"The company and city explored other alternatives, but in order to get the temporary, above-ground line buried as soon as possible, this was the best route," she said. "The design and location of the replacement feeder that will cross open space was the best possible route to get the line in a permanent underground location."

The agreement allows Xcel crews to bore under a portion of open space and run conduit and power lines through that boring. The company will have to notify the city 72 hours in advance before going on open space, unless there is an emergency, and the company will have to reseed the area according to the city's specifications.

Huntley said people should expect to see construction equipment on open space as soon as the weather allows.

City officials described their agreement to Xcel's plans as "reluctant."

"It became clear that this was the only fix Xcel Energy would entertain, and continuing the dispute could subject Shanahan Ridge customers to worsening power outages and disruptions of electric service," Carr said.

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